


Soft as Stone

by Needs_to_stop_looking_at_valves



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Cutesy, Daruk just being a soft boy for cute Hylian babe, F/M, Protectiveness, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:21:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28767000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Needs_to_stop_looking_at_valves/pseuds/Needs_to_stop_looking_at_valves
Summary: Daruk settles at a Stable for the night. When he meets a cute Hylian girl amongst the rain, he's forced to deal with his greatest fear. Not a bloodthirsty Lynel, but a dog.
Relationships: daruk/reader
Kudos: 12





	Soft as Stone

**Author's Note:**

> This is fir @cookiesart on tumblr, who is SO thirsty for Daruk. Hope you enjoy!

Daruk gazed up at the sky. Cloudy, definitely gonna rain soon. He didn't HATE the rain, especially compared to other Gorons, but he wasn’t too fond of it. He kept walking on, bare feet gliding against the wet grass. He had gone all the way out here to talk to Zelda, something about the divine beasts. It was closer to his home on Death mountain, but the meeting dragged on for way longer than it should've. Had it not been for Revali bragging and preening, he would’ve been in his rock bed by now.

"Oh I guess that's not fair, I guess. Buddy is just proud of himself."

He made his way further on, before seeing a dirt road. It was getting darker now, he guessed sticking to the main path would’ve been his best bet. He thankfully didn't have to walk far, and he soon saw those all too familiar lights. Finally, a stable. He made a bit of a dash, covering his head as he felt the droplets of rain. He just made it as it started to come down, and he sighed in relief.

"Just made it!"

He looked around. Aside from the snoozing innkeeper and the goats cuddling for warmth, there wasn’t really anyone here. That is, until he heard the crunching of steps. He had to squint to see, but sure enough, someone else was coming in, and coming in hot. The rain was coming in now, and they nearly skidded into him. Thankfully, he caught the hooded figure, chuckling. 

"Easy, you just made it, little hood."

He helped them to their feet, and they pulled their blue hood back. A little Hylian. Pretty, honestly. Short hair, soft looking face, rosy cheeks. Daruk alway did think Hylians were just precious. She chuckled, scratching the back of her ear.

"Thanks. Really appreciate the hand. You're uh, Goron right?"

"Yep! Name's Daruk! You're a bit far from home yourself, ain't ya little hood?"

"You can call me cookie. And yeah, I guess you can say that. I WAS on course, but then I kinda got side tracked. Been looking for someone and-"

That was when a loud grumble sound was heard. Daruk barked in laughter, realizing exactly what it was.

"Too busy lookin' for someone and not some THING, eh? Unfortunately, I ate all my rock roasts. But I do got this for ya!"

Daruk dug into his travelers pouch, and pulled out something wrapped in paper. She took it, and revealed a soft, sweet smelling fruit cake. Granted the cream was a bit smudged because of the paper, but who cared, ultimately? She accepted it gratefully, sinking her teeth into the soft treat. Daruk chuckled.

"Glad it helps ya. Some lady gave it to me on the way here, didn't want to say no. I'm not too fond of it though, so glad you got a use out of it."

She finished it greedily, sighing as she felt her stomach no longer ache.

"Thank you. That's honestly very nice of you, makes my day a BIT of success. The rest of it definitely wasn't."

"Aw, you need to talk about it with ol' Daruk?"

He cocked his head to the side, letting her take a moment to respond.

"Well...see, I'm a veterinarian, and instead of keeping to a clinic, I go off into the wilderness and help any animal I see. I saw a familiar face, and I tried to help him out. But something spooked him, and he ran, totally throwing me off course."

"Ah. Well hey, at least you got lost doin' something good. Sure little fella would turn up. He got a name?"

"Graham Cracker. Stupid name, I kinda like it. He's a-"

That was when he found her suddenly hiding at his side. She was holding onto him tightly, staring off into the distance. A red maned Lynel, this close to a stable? Definitely not normal. He patted her little hand, chuckling.

"Hey, don't worry. Monsters don't like to mess with stables, we're safe. Odd he's all the way down here though."

The Lynel was acting fairly odd too, pawing and slashing at a particular set of rocks. They both looked on, more curious than anything. That was when he saw a white paw poking out. This Lynel was trying to get at whatever creature was in that little den. She took a step forward, suddenly full of panic.

"Graham Cracker?!"

There was an odd, yelp like noise coming from the creature, and suddenly she bolted. He dashed after her, completely surprised as to how this situation progressed. She made a sudden stop in front of the Lynel, arms held out in front of her. The Lynel didn't take too kindly to this interruption, and he pulled out his weapon. Just before he could bring it down, he was sent crashing against the rocks next to him. Daruk looked towards her, motioning for her to go. She nodded in understanding, kneeling down to help Graham Cracker. 

"Come on big guy, let's go! You finally get a fella YOUR size!"

The Lynel hissed at him, drool spitting from his maw, and his eyes glowing through the blanket the heavy rain created. It took up, weapon wielded, hoof pawing at the mud below. Deruk was really just egging it on as a means of distracting it, surely she had gotten him out by-

"He's stuck! It's too slippery for him to climb out!"

Daruk hated when a plan didn't go smoothly. The monster, letting out a roar, suddenly bolted for him. Daruk swooped her up, keeping him to his side, and watched as the monster tripped. The force sent the rocks into disarray, and Daruk immediately went to grab the little guy. That was when he froze. Looking him dead in the eye, was a wet, fluffy, dog. Panic immediately came over him, and he totally forgot what was happening. She gestured at him, clearly in a panic.

"Well?! Grab him!"

"Uh- YOU do it!"

"Why are you-"

Her sentence was cut off as she screamed. The Lynel had recovered from his blunder, and tried to stomp on them. Thankfully Daruk's shield kicked in just in time, sending the creature recoiling.

"Stop asking questions and GRAB HIM!"

She obeyed, and the second he knew he wouldn't be touching the dog, he ran. He never liked the idea of running from a good fight, but he couldn’t fight with two other defenseless lives on the line. The Lynel ran after them, but like magic, stopped just before it reached past the small, wooden fence. For reasons no one understood, no monster could walk into a stable, no matter how mighty. The creature kept hovering; glaring at them as it vainly tried to look for an opening. He panted harshly as he paid it no heed. His chest hurt, he was wet, and he was cold. He looked down at her, past the mop of wet hair on his face.

"That's definitely going in the story book...you alright there, little hood?"

"I'm fine. Wet, but totally fine. That was...something."

"You're telling me. He's still wanting a go at me."

He chuckled. The whole situation was honestly a doozy of a story and he couldn’t wait to tell the princess. He was about to ask if she needed a change of clothes, until her small, dainty fingers ran against his skin. She pushed the hair from his face, and she chuckled.

"I...thank you. I don't know what I would’ve done if you weren't there."

"Hey, the Daruk doesn't need to be thanked. Just happy you're safe and sound. Champions like me need something worth fighting for."

"You talking about me?"

She chuckled. His hair was out of his face, but for some odd reason, she couldn't stop touching it. Couldn't stop running her fingers through it, couldn't stop letting her fingers wander across his skin. Maybe he was just seeing things, but he swore she was leaning into him. Swore her eyes drifted to his lips. Swore her cheeks were extra red. He slowly leaned a bit in response. He wasn’t greedy, but Daruk was NOT one to turn down a gift, especially when it was from a pretty little Hylian.

"Or about Graham Cracker?"

That was when she pulled him into view. That fluffy, panting face of evil. Daruk suddenly screamed, letting her fall right on her rear end. He hunched into a corner, hands over his head, and barriers up to protect him. He looked up a bit, and was grateful to see her chuckling, rather than finding any offense to it.

For a rock man, Daruk was really soft.


End file.
